Xia was stuck in the subzero temperatures and suffered from severe frostbite. At the end of his failed journey, his feet required amputation.

Xia recounted that night in an interview with ExplorersWeb in 2007.

"The following night, at 7,600 [meters], I gave my sleeping bag to one of them, and thus suffered from frostbite in both feet," Xia told ExplorersWeb. "Back home, they gave me medals, but my frozen feet wouldn't heal. I finally had [my legs] amputated [below the knee]."

Never give up! Xia Boyu, a double amputee who lost both his legs to frostbite in 1975, became the first Chinese to successfully reach the top of Mount Everest with prosthetic legs on May 14, after four previous attempts across 43 years. pic.twitter.com/UuZOoLWzbP

In an interview with TIME Magazine before his climb, Xia said: "I love the mountain. … I will fight for it my entire life."

Xia's success was challenged with a controversial bill that the Nepal government passed. In an attempt to decrease deaths the government banned people with disabilities from climbing Mount Everest. After a backlash from disability rights advocates and supporters, Nepal's high courts overturned the bill, according to The Washington Post.

His son, Cloud Xia, was extremely happy that his dad reached his goal. On a social media platform called WeChat, Xia wrote: "My Dad reached Everest at 8:26 Nepal time!!! Has realized his 40 years dream!!!"